Info about Do No Harm:

Official game description:
_Do No Harm_ is a doctor simulator with a Lovecraftian twist. You take on the role of a village doctor, diagnosing and treating patients using ancient and often cryptic medical procedures.
If you’re a fan of profession-related simulators or games that test your decision-making under pressure, Do No Harm is a unique blend of strategy and horror that will keep you guessing until the very end.
*   Lovecraftian Atmosphere
    *   Nightmarish entities that warp reality as you play, causing hallucinations, blocking your ability to interact with items, and even deceiving you about treatment results.
    *   Anomalies creeping into your daily medical practice, impacting your Sanity.
    *   Lovecraftian story involving the proxy war between Azathoth and Cthulhu over the island village and through it the world and humanity.
*   19-th century Doctor Simulator
    *   Diagnose patients based on their symptoms
    *   Use tools to narrow down treatment possibilities, and inject the patients with the medicine
    *   Consult your **Book of Medicine**—a beautifully crafted grimoire-like guide.
    *   Experiment with remedies inspired by Early Modern medicine, and hope they work… or brace for the consequences.
*   Rich Story & Multiple Endings
    *   Reputation system impacting how villagers act around you
    *   Each diagnosis, treatment, and moral decision impacts the outcome, leading to multiple endings. Find all 12 Endings.
    *   Survive 30 Days: Navigate the pressures of treating the sick while also surviving for 30 days in an increasingly hostile environment.
    *   Will you save the villagers, descend into madness, or uncover the truth behind the horrors?

Release date: Mar 6, 2025

Categories: Job Simulation, Lovecraftian Horror, Deductive Reasoning Puzzle, Resource Management, Multiple Endings, Moral Decision-Making, Narrative Adventure, Psychological Horror


- Hardware Profile: No data
Feature extractions:
- Community Price: No data
- Playtime Metrics: No data
- Time-to-fun: No data
- Player Archetypes: No data


Below are summaries of things people say about the game per category.
Each point is assigned a weight that represents how often it is mentioned across all reviews.
What players like:
- Engaging and Fun Core Gameplay (weight 0.99): Players consistently find the game highly enjoyable, addictive, and entertaining, praising its core gameplay loop, challenging yet satisfying mechanics, and overall design. The game offers good replay value and a rewarding experience once its systems are understood.
- Rich Lovecraftian Atmosphere (weight 0.41): The game masterfully blends Lovecraftian horror with its medical simulation, creating a dark, eerie, and immersive atmosphere. This theme is a major draw for fans of cosmic horror and adds significant depth to the experience.
- Distinctive Art Style and Aesthetics (weight 0.28): The game's art style, visuals, and overall aesthetic are widely appreciated for being beautiful, unique, and fitting the game's theme. This contributes significantly to the game's atmosphere and player immersion.
- Accessible and Understandable Mechanics (weight 0.24): While initially challenging, players find that the game's mechanics become clear and manageable through reading the in-game book, experimentation, and repeated play. The learning curve is seen as intentional and rewarding, not unfair.
- Intriguing Concept and Premise (weight 0.21): The game's core idea, concept, and premise are consistently highlighted as interesting, unique, and creative. This strong foundational concept draws players in and provides a fresh experience.
- Engaging Medical Simulation Mechanics (weight 0.17): The game's unique medical simulation, involving resource management, diagnosis, and varied treatments, is highly engaging. Players enjoy the process of deducing syndromes and administering cures, with tools like the Humor Wheel enhancing the experience.
- Compelling Story and Narrative (weight 0.17): The game features a well-developed, engaging, and mysterious story that keeps players hooked. The narrative is praised for its pacing, character development, and ability to draw players into its world.

Common complaints:
- Confusing, Repetitive, and Unfinished Gameplay (weight 0.93): Players consistently report that the core gameplay loop is confusing, repetitive, and feels unfinished. Mechanics are poorly explained, leading to constant guesswork and frustration, making the game feel like an early access title rather than a full release. This significantly impacts engagement and replayability.
- Numerous Bugs and Technical Issues (weight 0.65): The game is plagued with various bugs, including game-breaking ones that prevent progression, cause crashes, or lead to soft locks. These technical issues severely detract from the player experience and contribute to a sense of an unpolished product.
- Poorly Implemented and Unrewarding Endings (weight 0.62): Players are disappointed with the game's endings, describing them as abrupt, anticlimactic, and lacking in animation or voice acting. The illusion of choice is often broken, and the effort required for multiple playthroughs is not justified by the minor variations in outcomes.
- Flawed Medicine and Dosage Systems (weight 0.35): The mechanics for medicine management, dosage calculation, and mixing are widely criticized for being confusing, poorly explained, and often contradictory. Players struggle with limited resources, arbitrary dosage requirements, and a lack of clear feedback, leading to frustration and wasted supplies.
- Weak and Inconsistent Narrative (weight 0.16): The story is perceived as underdeveloped, inconsistent, and slow-paced, failing to engage players. Many plotlines lack conclusion, and the narrative often 'tells instead of shows,' leading to a lack of depth and intrigue.
- Unclear and Punishing Sanity Mechanics (weight 0.16): The sanity system is a major source of frustration, with players reporting inexplicable drops, insufficient means to restore it, and unclear triggers for loss. The limited supply of Laudanum further exacerbates this issue, making it feel unfair and punishing.
- Problematic Humor Wheel Mechanic (weight 0.15): The 'Humor Wheel' is frequently cited as a confusing, useless, and time-wasting mechanic. Its explanations are insufficient, interactions often contradict other information, and it contributes little to meaningful gameplay.
- Unrewarding and Punishing Difficulty (weight 0.07): The game's difficulty is often perceived as punishing and unrewarding, with players feeling penalized for playing 'correctly' or encountering early game-over scenarios without clear explanations. This design choice detracts from the sense of achievement and replayability.
- Unclear and Infrequent Anomalies (weight 0.07): The anomaly system is criticized for being unclear, with players struggling to identify what constitutes an anomaly and where they might appear. Their infrequent or random occurrence also leads to them becoming boring over time.
- Poor Localization Quality (weight 0.07): Several players reported issues with translations, particularly in Spanish and Japanese. These include awkward phrasing, grammatical errors, untranslated sections, and inconsistencies, which hinder understanding and immersion.
- Buggy or Missing Achievements (weight 0.06): Players reported issues with achievements not unlocking correctly or being difficult to obtain. Some even noted a complete absence of an achievement system, which reduces incentive for completionists.

Gameplay feedback:
- Complex Medical Diagnosis Gameplay (weight 0.46): The core gameplay revolves around diagnosing patients with various ailments, often based on vague symptoms, and then deducing the correct medicine and dosage. This involves using tools like a magnifying glass and stethoscope, consulting a medical book, and utilizing a 'Humor Wheel' to determine precise treatments based on ancient Greek medical theory. Players must manage medicine stock and observe patient reactions to administered doses.
- Lovecraftian Horror & Sanity Management (weight 0.25): The game is deeply rooted in Lovecraftian themes, featuring Cthulhu mythos elements, strange anomalies, and a descent into madness. Players must manage their sanity by observing environmental anomalies and consuming laudanum to ward off hallucinations and maintain mental health.
- Multiple Endings & Moral Choices (weight 0.2): The game features a significant number of alternate endings (advertised as 10-16), influenced by player choices, moral decisions, sanity levels, and interactions with NPCs. This encourages multiple playthroughs to explore different story paths and outcomes, though some endings are variations of others.
- Resource Management & Ethical Dilemmas (weight 0.17): Players operate a clinic, managing resources like medicine and lamp oil, and making critical decisions about patient care. This includes choosing whether to fully heal patients, cut costs, or even sacrifice patients, leading to moral choices that impact the game's progression and endings.
- Deductive Puzzle & Learning Curve (weight 0.14): The game is primarily a deductive puzzle, requiring players to analyze clues, understand mechanics, and make logical inferences. It has a steep learning curve, with new mechanics introduced gradually, and rewards players who pay attention to detail and experiment with treatments.
- Adjustable Difficulty & Pace (weight 0.13): The game offers different modes, including a 'Chill Mode' without a time limit, allowing players to learn mechanics at a relaxed pace. While some find the normal mode challenging and unforgiving, others note that it becomes smoother once mechanics are understood.
- Similarities to 'Papers, Please' (weight 0.12): Many reviewers compare the game's core loop and desk-based decision-making to 'Papers, Please'. It shares a similar structure of checking guidelines, making choices, and managing resources, but with a unique Lovecraftian doctor theme.
- 30-Day Survival Goal (weight 0.07): The primary objective of the game is to survive a 30-day probation period as a doctor on a remote island. Gameplay becomes more complex and challenging as the days progress, with increasing threats and opportunities for failure.
- Mysterious Village Setting (weight 0.05): Players take on the role of a new doctor in an intriguing, remote island village inhabited by strange villagers. The setting is crucial to the plot, involving interactions with NPCs and uncovering dark secrets beneath the village's calm surface.
- Totem Feedback System (weight 0.04): A totem on the doctor's desk provides visual and auditory feedback, reacting to missed anomalies and reminding players to take sanity-restoring potions. It serves as an in-game indicator for the player's performance in managing anomalies.

Performance notes:
- Performance and Optimization Issues (weight 0.06): Players report general bugginess, stuttering, and frame skipping, especially in fullscreen mode, indicating a need for better optimization. While major game-breaking bugs are fixed, memory leaks and inconsistent performance, particularly with specific lighting effects, remain concerns.
- Steam Deck Compatibility (weight 0.02): The game is reported to run well and be playable on the Steam Deck, though some users noted the need for FPS limitations for optimal performance.
- Low PC Requirements (weight 0.01): The game does not require a high-end PC to run, making it accessible to a broader range of players.
- Addressed Sanity Mechanics (weight 0.01): Issues related to the game's sanity mechanics have been resolved through recent updates, improving the player experience in this area.

Recommendations:
- Mixed Recommendation Status (weight 0.42): Player sentiment regarding recommendation is highly divided. Many players express hesitation or outright refusal to recommend the game in its current state, often citing issues or specific caveats. However, a significant portion still recommends it, especially to niche audiences or with the expectation of future improvements.
- Potential for Future Improvement (weight 0.13): A substantial number of players express hope for future updates and bug fixes, indicating that the game has potential but is currently held back by various issues. Many are willing to revisit or recommend the game once improvements are made.
- Strong Niche Appeal (weight 0.13): The game strongly appeals to fans of Lovecraftian settings, eldritch horror, and specific genres like medical simulators or puzzle games. Players who enjoy complex systems, moral dilemmas, and decision-making challenges are more likely to recommend it.
- Chill Mode Recommended (weight 0.05): Players specifically recommend starting the game in 'Chill Mode' or playing casually, suggesting it offers a more accessible or enjoyable experience, especially for new players or completionists.
- Recommend on Sale (weight 0.02): Several players suggest that the game is worth purchasing, but primarily when it is on sale or at a significant discount. This indicates a perceived value issue at full price.
- Not Recommended for Purchase (weight 0.02): A smaller but vocal group of players explicitly advises against purchasing the game, citing disappointment or urging others to save their money. This indicates significant dissatisfaction for some players.
- Desire for Longer Playtime (weight 0.01): Some players wish for a longer game experience or suggest adjustments to the game's length to improve flow. This indicates a desire for more content or a more refined pacing.
- Watch YouTube Instead (weight 0.01): A few players suggest that watching a YouTube playthrough might be more enjoyable or informative than playing the game manually. This is based on limited feedback and suggests potential issues with engagement or clarity.
- Non-Binary Recommendation Option (weight 0.01): A very small number of players expressed a wish for a non-binary recommendation option, highlighting the nuanced feelings some have about the game. This is based on limited feedback.

Other player notes:
- Developer Responsiveness and Updates (weight 0.1): The development team is praised for being invested, offering regular updates, and actively fixing bugs. Players are hopeful for continued polish, reworks, and future content additions.
- Playthrough Length and Pacing (weight 0.06): Players have mixed feelings about the game's length, with some finding the 7-9 hour playthroughs for 30 days too long and suggesting a shorter duration. Others express a desire to continue playing despite challenges.
- Desire for Achievements (weight 0.05): Many players express a strong desire for Steam achievements, viewing them as an incentive to play and complete the game. The recent implementation of an achievement feature is noted, but more are wanted.
- Unclear Mechanics and Hints (weight 0.05): Some players find the game's mechanics and hints vague, requiring significant effort to understand. While some enjoy this challenge, others desire clearer guidance, suggesting it's not for players who prefer hand-holding.
- Subtle Storytelling and Lore (weight 0.04): The game offers subtle storytelling that draws players in, especially towards the end. However, it might be overwhelming for those unfamiliar with its references, suggesting lore knowledge enhances enjoyment.
- Creepy Story and Visuals (weight 0.03): The game features an amazingly creepy story with elements of fear, blood, insects, and organs. This content contributes to its horror theme, though it may not appeal to those who dislike visual novel genres with minimal screen movement.
- Desire for More Content (weight 0.03): Players hope for additional content, such as an endless mode, and express a desire to spend more time in the game after finishing it, indicating a positive core experience.
- Confusing Owl Mechanic (weight 0.02): One player was confused about the owl's role and its removal, indicating a potential lack of clarity in a specific game mechanic. This is based on limited feedback.

Emotions:
- Satisfaction (weight 0.22): Players feel satisfied by the game's high overall quality, including its well-developed story, engaging Lovecraftian atmosphere, and beautiful art style. Mastering the challenging yet interesting gameplay mechanics, such as patient diagnosis and medicine mixing, and exploring multiple endings also contribute significantly to this positive emotion.
- Frustration (weight 0.21): Frustration stems primarily from game-breaking bugs, poorly explained or unclear mechanics (especially regarding dosage, anomalies, and tutorials), and repetitive gameplay. Players also express annoyance with financial losses, tedious healing processes, and the feeling of being punished by RNG rather than skill.
- Disappointment (weight 0.16): Disappointment arises when the game fails to meet expectations, often due to unpolished or incomplete features, a lack of depth in gameplay or story, and repetitive content. Players are also let down by poor execution of good concepts, unengaging moral choices, and a perceived lack of value for money, especially when compared to similar titles.
- Excitement (weight 0.07): Excitement is generated by the game's intriguing story, challenging gameplay, and the prospect of exploring multiple endings and achievements. The unique Lovecraftian atmosphere, stellar quality, and anticipation for future content or twists also contribute to a strong sense of enthusiasm and recommendation.
- Confusion (weight 0.06): Confusion is frequently caused by poorly explained or unintuitive game mechanics, particularly the humor wheel, dosage systems, and anomaly detection. Players struggle with unclear instructions, inconsistent plot points, and a general lack of guidance, leading to difficulty in understanding how to progress or succeed.
- Enjoyment (weight 0.05): Players experience enjoyment from the game's well-written plot, engaging Lovecraftian horror theme, and the core gameplay loop of medicine dosage. The overall atmosphere, art style, and the process of discovering internal anomalies contribute to a generally fun and entertaining experience, especially in short play sessions or after understanding mechanics.
- Engagement (weight 0.04): Engagement is driven by the game's immersive Lovecraftian atmosphere, challenging moral choices, and addictive gameplay loop. Players are drawn in by the mysteries, the need for strategic thinking, and the emotional impact of their decisions, leading to a desire to explore different paths and achieve various endings.
- Boredom (weight 0.03): Boredom sets in due to repetitive gameplay loops, monotonous tasks, and slow story progression, particularly during longer play sessions or subsequent playthroughs. The initial shine of the humoral system fades, and a lack of surprise or engaging content leads players to lose interest before finishing the game.
- Hope (weight 0.02): Hope is expressed for future updates and improvements, including bug fixes, better explanations for mechanics, and additional content to flesh out concepts. Players anticipate that developers will address current pain points and realize the game's full potential, leading to a more refined and enjoyable experience.
- Joy (weight 0.02): Joy comes from the overall fun and beautiful game experience, often enhanced by playing with friends and discovering alternate endings. Specific elements like the humorous take on medical simulation, the ability to pet the in-game owl, and the game's mood-lifting qualities contribute to a feeling of absolute delight.
- Desire (weight 0.01): Players express a desire for more content, including additional patient interactions, playable content, and variety in gameplay. There is also a strong wish for quality-of-life improvements, such as skipping tutorials, better tools, and an achievement guide to enhance replayability and overall experience.
- Appreciation (weight 0.01): Appreciation is shown for the game's distinct visual style, unique Lovecraftian vibe, and engaging mechanics. Players value the art, music, character portraits, and the overall premise, recognizing the effort put into the game's design and its attempt to offer something different as an indie title.
- Anger (weight 0.01): Anger is triggered by game-breaking bugs, unreasonable sanity loss mechanics, and misleading game presentation or inaccurate tags. Players also express frustration with developers failing to fix critical issues and logical inconsistencies within quests, sometimes leading to strong negative reactions.
- Anticipation (weight 0.01): Anticipation is driven by the desire to understand mechanics, explore future content, and experience the full story. The game's atmosphere, which keeps players on edge, and the prospect of starting over with better knowledge to overcome challenges, also contribute to this eager expectation.
- Interest (weight 0.01): Interest is sparked by the game's unique concept, detailed medical book, and the intriguing incorporation of Lovecraftian elements. Players are drawn to the interesting mechanics, puzzle-solving gameplay, and the overall themes of the Cthulhu universe, motivating them to continue playing and explore further.
- Love (weight 0.01): Love for the game stems from its perfect blend of atmosphere, story, art style, and well-enforced mechanics. Players are deeply fond of the concept, graphic style, and the developers' incredible vision, finding the overall combination of elements highly appealing.
- Immersion (weight 0): Immersion is achieved through the game's strong Lovecraftian atmosphere, compelling storyline, and themes of pharmacology and hallucinations. Players feel deeply connected to the role of the doctor, experiencing a sense of being fully present in the game's universe.
- Curiosity (weight 0): Curiosity motivates players to explore more about characters, future events, and different endings within the game. There's a strong desire to seek clarification on potential bugs or missing content and to understand how to achieve specific outcomes or save certain characters.
- Surprise (weight 0): Surprise arises from the unexpected quality and depth of the doctoring mechanics, as well as shocking first endings. Players are also surprised by the game's longer-than-expected duration and occasional genuinely scary moments, exceeding their initial expectations.
- Fun (weight 0): Players find the game fun, especially initially, and enjoy the process of correctly medicating patients. The overall experience is described as a 'blast,' indicating a high level of enjoyment during gameplay.}